Peyton sat on her couch with her feet propped up against the coffee table. Brooke was about two hours into her shift and Lucas and Nathan were at the youth center coaching basketball to some kids. Here Peyton was watching TV feeling sorry for herself because she didn't have a job. She heard her phone ring next to her.

"Hello?" She answered not bothering to look to see who was calling.

"Is this Peyton?" The man on the other line asked.

"Yes it is." Peyton answered lowering the volume on the TV.

"Hi Peyton this is Rick from Rick's Records. You applied for a job yesterday." Rick continued.

"Yes I remember." Peyton replied nervously.

"Listen one of our employees quit this morning. You have the job if you can be here in a half hour." Peyton jumped up from the couch and started to search the apartment for some clothes.

"Yes I will be right down." She replied pulling on a pair of jeans.

"Good then I will see you soon." Rick hung up the phone. Peyton finished getting ready and ran out the door.

The record store was only a ten-minute walk from the apartment building where Peyton lived. She walked into the store and saw Rick standing behind the counter sorting threw inventory.

"Hi. I'm Peyton." Peyton re-introduced herself.

"Yeah I remember you." Rick replied not looking up. Peyton felt a presence appear beside her. She took a quick glance to her left. She felt her mouth drop open. The person standing next to her was definitely someone she thought she would never see again. Peyton blinked a couple of times to make sure she was seeing things. "This is Haley she will be helping you out for the next couple of days. Don't mess up." Rick gathered up his papers and everything else and walked to the back of the store. Peyton turned so she was fully facing Haley. She looked different. The Haley she knew had shoulder length auburn hair not long and blonde. The Haley she knew was against tattoos but the Haley standing in front of her had one on her wrist. The Haley she knew never wore make-up. The Haley standing in front of her wore it heavily now. The last time that she had seen Haley was when she walked into Peyton's room to say that she was leaving to do a tour with Chris Keller.

"What?" Peyton asked in shock trying to wrap her head around it. She looked over to Brooke who had the same shocked and confused look on her face.

"It's a really big opportunity for me." Haley tried to explain to her friends.

"So you're just leaving us?" Brooke asked. The three of them had been best friends since kindergarten.

"Not for good. I will be back." Haley tried to reason.

"Hales I get that this is huge but with Chris Keller. You don't need that guy. Your talented all by yourself." Peyton told Haley.

"Chris has a lot of connections. If I don't do this now I will never get the chance again." Haley was suddenly becoming upset that her friends were not supporting her.

"But your not even done with high school. We were suppose to graduate together." Brooke pleaded.

"I will be back before then. I thought you guys would be happy for me." Haley said standing up from the bed.

"We are happy Hales but this just doesn't make any sense." Peyton tried to stay calm.

"What doesn't make sense is that my best friends aren't supporting me. I am leaving tonight at nine. If you are really happy for me then you will be there at the train station to see me off." Haley stormed out of the room and that was the last time both Brooke and Peyton saw her.

"Small world huh?" Haley asked with a shrug of her shoulder. Peyton snapped out of her trance.

"Yeah small world." Peyton echoed. Haley moved her wrist just right so Peyton could see the tattoo that lay there. It said 3BFF's. Which was how the three of them labeled themselves. No one understood it but that was the point.

"Oh it's so good to see you again!" Haley cheered. She ran up to Peyton and threw her arms around her neck. "What are you doing here?" Haley asked taking a step back to look at Peyton. She looked the same expect with shorter hair.

"I guess Brooke and I just needed the change." Peyton answered avoiding eye contact.

"Brooke is here too! That's so good to hear!" Haley was beyond excited.

"Yeah. Nice tattoo by the way." Peyton said pointing to Haley's wrist.

"Oh that." Haley rubbed her wrist. "I never forgot about you guys." Haley said running her hands through her hair.

"Could have fooled me. I must have missed all those letters and phone calls." Peyton pulled her cell phone from her pocket and looked it over. "Yup phone still works." She shoved the phone back in her pocket.

"Listen I met to stay in touch but I didn't think you guys wanted me too." Haley shifted her weight.

"We were hurt and confused Haley. We tried to call you later but you never answered. How were we suppose to take that." Peyton argued for herself and Brooke.

"The tour was busy. I didn't have the time." Haley explained herself.

"Listen lets not talk about this now. Where is Chris anyways?" Peyton asked giving a quick glance around the store. She was almost expecting him to jump up from behind a display.

"I don't know. Chicago I think. When the tour ended I just ended up here."

"Why didn't you just come home?" Peyton was hurt.

"I didn't think people would welcome me back." Haley was definitely referring to Peyton and Brooke. Peyton rolled her eyes and threw her head back.

"Haley that's that dumbest thing I have ever heard. Why did you really end up here in California?" Peyton wanted the truth and she would stop until she got it.

"I love it here. I just wanted to start over. No body knows me here I can be whoever I want." Haley explained.

"Sounds familiar." Peyton mumbled. How could she be mad at Haley about that when she did exactly the same thing? "So where do we begin." Peyton was ready to start work and avoid talking about the tour for a while.

Brooke picked up the lingerie that people didn't want and placed them back into their appropriate places. It was quarter to five. The shop closed at five. Brooke was there alone to close up. As her co-worker Chloe put it, it was just the perk of being the new girl. Brooke went through all the necessities of closing up shop. She checked the back to make sure no one was back there. Checked all the dressing rooms. Cleaned up the shop so it looked decent for the morning. She was about to lock the door when a guy about 25 walked in.

"Sorry were closed." Brooke said locking up the register.

"Can't you stay open for me?" He asked with a cocky smirk.

"No I cant. I'm sorry." The guy smiled and walked closer to her. Brooke's stomach began to knot up.

"Come on sweety. I just need a nice gift for my girl." He gently rubbed her bare arm. She jerked back at his touch.

"You can come back tomorrow then when we open at 8." Brooke stepped way back hoping he would just go away without any trouble.

"But you see it's my girl's birthday tonight. I wont be too long. I promise." He walked behind the counter. Brooke kept stepping back away from him.

"You will have to get her something else then." Brooke was growing more anxious. They didn't tell her what to do if this ever happened. She was trying to think clearly but her mind kept wondering to the worst situations.

"Ok I'll admit I lied. I saw you in the window and had to talk to you." He backed Brooke up against the wall. "You are just to damn sexy to walk by and not say hello." He whispered huskily in her ear. Brooke took in a sharp breath. His hands went to her waist.

"Well you said hello. You can go now." Brooke tried to stay calm.

"Your not scared are you?" He leaned in closer to her.

"No. If you just go there wont be any trouble." Brooke would say anything to get him out of here. He backed away from her.

"If that's how you want to play then fine I will go." He backed fully away from her and walked to the door. When he got to the door he turned and gave her a wave then walked out to blend in with the rest of the crowed sidewalk. Brooke waited until her breathing returned to normal. She didn't notice that she was holding her breath. She quickly finished locking up the store and swiftly made her way out of the store. Brooke kept watching her back. She didn't know if she was being followed or if it was in her head. She sighed in relief when she saw her apartment building. She quickly made her way inside up and up the three flights of stairs. Brooke found her door and struggled to unlock her door.

"Peyton! Open the door!" Brooke yelled pounding on the door. Her hands were shaking so bad she couldn't get her key in her lock. She felt a hand touch her shoulder. Her whole body went tense. She spun around ready to cut the person behind her with her key. She turned to see Nathan standing behind her. Brooke felt her body go weak.

"Brooke are you alright?" Nathan asked putting both hands on her shoulder and looking her directly in the eyes. Brooke nodded her quickly but didn't say anything. She was trying to make sure the guy in the store didn't get to her. "No your not. What happened?" Nathan asked. Brooke looked fragile to him right now.

"It's nothing. It has just been a long day and I can't get my key to work." Brooke tried not to cry.

"Hey come here." Nathan told her softly. He gently pulled her into him. Brooke let herself fold into him. She had never felt so safe in her life. She dropped her arms so she could fold them around his waist. She nestled her face between his shoulder and neck. Nathan pulled her in closer to him. Brooke was the one to break the hug. She sighed when she saw the look he was giving her. She couldn't lie to him and tell him that everything was fine.

"There was this guy at the store today when I was closing up. He wouldn't leave me alone." Brooke said looking to the ground. She saw Nathan's hands form into fists.

"Did he hurt you?" He asked with concern and anger.

"No not really. He didn't hurt me physically. He just got really close." Brooke said remembering. "He finally just left. I don't know if he is going to come back or not and he just really scared me." Brooke let a few tears slip from her eyes. Nathan wiped them away.

"Come on let's go back to my place." He put his arm around her shoulder and led her to his apartment. Brooke laid her head on his shoulder as she walked with him.

A/N: A little Brathan action there. How about Haley working at the record store with Peyton? Small world huh? Next Chapter: Brooke wakes up in Nathan's bed but in what condition? Peyton tells Brooke about Haley. Will Peyton finally realize her feelings for Lucas when Haley shows interest in him? Review.